The Football Brainiacs

Image of Gabriel Campbell via Scout.com

– Amonte Caban: First of all gotta give credit to one of our regular posters, Zack, who first brought Caban to our attention. Yesterday Oklahoma offered the 2015 LB out of Smiths, Alabama. We will try to get in touch with him and gauge his interest in OU. But again, credit to Zack. Great eye!

– Brian Bosworth: Just want to thank The Boz again for his contribution, both in the write-up itself and his impressive message in the comment section, to our site today. And if any of y’all missed the either the post itself or his comment, please be sure to check it out here. It’s very inspirational.

One of the coaches from Armwood (where Jordan Griffin plays, and Eric Striker once played) took the comment and actually posted on their board to inspire the other kids. The end of the comment was particularly inspirational and though it may have been directed at young athletes, it feels very applicable to all people at any stage in life:

So in the end all I ask of any young athlete is to look into their individual mirror and honestly ask themselves…What is “MY Gift”? What do I want to do with “My Gift”? What am I willing to sacrifice for “My Gift”? and most importantly, Who do I thank daily for “My Gift”? Answer those HONESTLY and live those answers with HONOR and you will exceed what ever your dream is!!

– Gabriel Campbell: With the commitment of both Kenneth Mann and Tyrell Jacobs, some of you may be wondering if OU is still pursuing Gabriel Campbell. Or if he is even interested in OU anymore. The answer to both questions is, yes. We spoke to Gabriel earlier this week, and he said that he has let coach Jerry Montgomery know he plans on taking an official visit for the Tennessee game. That weekend is shaping up to feature a pretty ridiculous number of top recruits!

– Jamal Danley: 2015 JUCO OL Jamal Danley intended to take a trip to Norman earlier this summer. Unfortunately, those plans did not pan out so he rescheduled for an undetermined time later in the summer. We caught up with him yesterday, and he said it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to make it to Norman for an unofficial visit. However, he insisted that he does plan on taking an official visit for the…wait for it…wait for it… Tennessee game.

– Lio Lafaela: Another 2015 JUCO OL, Lio Lafaela, tweeted out yesterday that he received his “official letter” from Oklahoma. We checked with him and he meant that he received his official offer letter. While Lio is currently committed to Texas Tech, he said he is considering taking an official visit to Oklahoma. More specifically he said, “I’m still undecided.” He said he has a bye week in September that happens to also coincide with the Tennessee game, and he said “that’s actually the one (the game) I’m trying to catch.”

– Cody Ford: Also spoke to 2015 OL Cody Ford about his decision timeline. Ford holds offers from OU, Arkansas, Mississippi State among others and is currently committed to TCU. If you’ve spent any time here on TFB, you know Ford is high on Oklahoma. He hasn’t decided yet when he will announce his decision, but did say he may wait until after he takes an official visit to Oklahoma. He also hasn’t set a date for that official, but said he’s got his eyes on the Louisiana Tech game.

– Ryan Newsome: Oklahoma picked up a great commitment from one of the most explosive WRs in the country this past weekend in 2015 WR John Humphrey. It is our understanding that OU would be fine taking only one receiver in this class, but for the right guy they would take a second. Ryan Newsome seems to be the ‘right’ receiver. Ryan Bartow of 247sports.com reported yesterday that Ryan Newsome has selected his official visit dates. According to Bartow, Newsome will visit OU on Nov. 8th for the Baylor game. Also per Bartow, Newsome will take officials to Tennessee, UCLA, Oregon, and Texas.

– Clark Yarbrough: 2016 OT Clark Yarbrough already holds offers from schools like Oklahoma, Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, and others. Yarbrough is a mountain of a man and incredibly athletic. Scary thing is he’s only been playing organized football for one year! His upside is off the charts.

Yarbrough made an unofficial visit to Michigan earlier this summer. Clark, his father, and brother made their way down to Norman this past weekend. He really enjoyed his visit to Oklahoma saying, “OU was awesome.” He said the trip “stacked up very well” against his trip to Michigan, and he’s “looking to get back to OU for a game.” If Coach Bedenbaugh fields another great OL this year, and with two potential NFL draft picks at tackle this year, Clark is the kind of player that Bedenbaugh may just be able to land.

– Brian Bullock: 2016 CB Brian Bullock out of Round Rock, Texas was also in Norman this past weekend. Bullock does not yet hold an OU offer, but is hoping to earn one during his jr. season (he’s got great sophomore film). Bobby Jack Wright is the coach who initially reached out to Bullock, and then Jerry Montgomery stopped by to visit him back in the spring. We don’t expect an offer to happen this summer, but he’s a CB to keep an eye on.

– Secondary: There has been a lot of talk about the potential of this year’s Oklahoma defense. And despite all the returning starters, there are some questions marks in the secondary after the loss of Aaron Colvin and Gabe Lynn. We’ve been talking to people regularly about the secondary, trying to keep up with the battles and the position changes.

From everything we’ve heard, it sounds like the open CB position is Julian Wilson’s to lose. Among other things, he brings valuable experience to the field in being a fifth year senior and extensive time at nickel back. In case you missed it, we previously discussed the potential of Wilson at CB here.

Another guy we’ve heard who has really started to come on is Ahmad Thomas. In the past, we were very skeptical about his potential to see significant time at the safety position based on conversations we’ve had with folks in and around the program. The general concern has always been that he may be too stiff for safety. But it sounds like more recently he’s been looking very comfortable.

A young guy we’ve heard has surprised some folks is true freshman Marcus Green. He is a little unorthodox we’re told, but he’s been effective. They’ve actually had him taking reps at corner. And while it’s unlikely he will see any action this year, he’s been receiving some early praise.

There has been a lot of movement in general at the safety/nickel positions. A few days back, we were hearing that Quentin Hayes was taking most of his reps at nickel as well as some at the field safety position. While Byrd was taking most of the 1st team reps at the field safety spot. Which put Thomas and (another true freshman) Steven Parker taking reps at the boundary safety position.

The coaches are obviously trying to move people around and find the right combination of players in the right positions. More recently we’re hearing when OU shifts from the 3-4 to their nickel package, Q.Hayes has been playing the nickel with Thomas at the boundary and Byrd to the field. In the standard 3-4 package, however, Hayes has been shifting back to the boundary safety spot. But interestingly, Thomas then moves to the field safety position.

Again, this is clearly a process and there are a lot of reps still to take before the opener. This is something that will continue to evolve and develop. By the time this is all said and done the starters could be players we don’t expect at positions we don’t anticipate. Things are very much subject to change as the coaches work to find the best combination of players.